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Private podcasts are starting to become more and more popular amongst brands and businesses. Having said that, they still remain a fairly niche format. But why?
Well for one, private podcasting as a concept is still fairly new. And there aren’t many companies or enterprises out there who truly understand what it is, why they should consider factoring it into their content strategy, and how to actually create one.
That’s where we come in. We’ve put together the below guide telling you everything you need to know and think about regarding private podcasting.
In this post you’ll learn:
Let’s get into it.
Private podcasts do what they say on the tin. They’re standard podcasts, but produced for a limited audience. In other words, they’re not made for the general public. They’re private, meaning you get to choose who has access to episodes on an invite-only basis.
We’ll go into more detail regarding who they’re most beneficial to shortly. But typically, a private podcast is perfect for delivering either internal company communications, or premium content to paying subscribers.
The way a private podcast works is exceptionally similar to how a standard one does. In fact, the process is identical until you get to the point of distribution. So, rather than publishing your show to a public RSS feed, you’ll publish it to a private one instead. And because it’s private, episodes won’t appear on the standard podcast directories (like Spotify and Apple Podcasts).
You’ll then distribute the private RSS feed directly to your selected audience, usually via email. From there, people will be able to click the link, subscribe, and ultimately listen to episodes as usual. They’ll even receive a notification when a new episode is published.
Creating a private podcast won’t be right for everyone. And there’s no point in going to the effort of producing one if you haven’t got the demand for it. By this, we mean if you’re not a brand or business with a lot of employees, or you’re not a popular podcaster with a super-dedicated fan base or close-knit community.
Let’s elaborate on this a bit more. Below is a breakdown of who a private podcast would typically work well for and why:
If you’re a business with a large number of employees, how are you currently delivering your internal company communications? Stale PDFs? Laborious email chains? Chances are it’s probably one or the other.
A private podcast is much more personal. Not only that, but it’s a creative way of opening up communication between senior management teams and employees. It doesn’t have to be for this sole purpose, either. Because private podcasting is also an effective way of delivering company-wide (or team) updates, sharing business information, making announcements, onboarding workers, or as a means of training.
Let’s not sugar coat it. Placing subscriber-only premium content behind a paywall gives you a money-making opportunity. So if you’re a popular podcaster with a dedicated and engaged audience, why not create an extra income stream through a private podcast?
Doing so will make delivering exclusive content to fans easy. It’ll also enhance the chances of your show becoming a financial success. Obviously, what kind of content your private podcast delivers is up to you. That being said, we’ve listed some typical scenarios below as an example:
Bear in mind this will only work for shows with large audiences. If the demand is there, subscriber-only content makes sense. If you’re a smaller show on the other hand, you’re probably not ready to start charging for additional content. Have a think about where you’re realistically at, and if you’re not sure, ask your listeners. Is this something they’d want to buy into? Figuring this out in advance could end up saving you a lot of time, effort, and money.
Similar to podcasters offering premium content to paying subscribers, membership sites can also generate extra revenue through private podcasting. So, what are people getting by being a member of your site? What are they paying for? Is it worth their while? Producing a private podcast will expand your offerings. Remember that content becomes valuable the minute you gate it. In other words, a private podcast is a reason for subscribers to keep paying, and a means of getting new sign-ups.
Private podcasts used in educational settings can be really effective. Not only do they put a fresh and unique spin on e-learning, but they can also boost participation. Take students that don’t work well with textbooks or print outs, for example. They might prefer and engage better with recorded content. Offering a variation as to how education is delivered and absorbed is progressive. Institutions might want to consider recording classroom lessons, extra help for certain students, extracurricular offerings, additional audio materials, and more.
The What, Why, & How of Podcasting in Higher Education
Sure. Creating a private podcast is easier said than done. And it takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to make a show a success. That being said, there are many benefits to doing so. We’ve summed them up below:
A significant perk of podcasting is how easy it is for audiences to listen to episodes. They don’t have to be tied to a computer screen to engage, but instead, they can be out running errands, doing household chores, or on a walk. There’s next to no effort in listening to an episode of a private podcast. This convenience factor can play a massive part in increasing listener retention rates.
Put it like this. How many people do you think will be able to sit through a 40-page PDF without becoming distracted at some point? Very few, probably. With a private podcast, they can digest the same information from wherever they are, meaning they won’t have to be sitting in front of a screen.
Unlike a public podcast where anyone can listen, a private podcast lets you control who tunes in. And because you’ll decide who gets access, private business information is at a much lesser risk of being leaked. To an extent, that is. If one of your employees discloses something confidential to someone and it becomes public, then sadly that’s on them. For the most part though, anything not meant for external consumption is much safer than it would be if it were on a standard document.
Having a good company culture is vital for helping employees feel valued and connected. Not only that, but it can also play a key role in boosting overall engagement and employee retention rates. If they feel involved, appreciated, and generally positive about coming into work, they’ll stick around for longer. Simple.
The intimate nature of listening to a podcast can build trust between you (the company) and them (the employees). And statistically, with more trust comes greater productivity. The team over at MatchMaker.fm recently spoke to Dr. Yoram Soloman (TEDx speaker, author, and podcaster) about his research on workplace trust, and why having it is important. He said:
A 2017 study of 102 projects across multiple industries showed that increasing the level of trust would improve project performance (being on schedule, on budget, and delivering what was expected etc) by 45%. Another research paper puts this number at 61%.
He continued:
In high-trust organisations, employees feel 74% less stress, 106% more energy, take 13% fewer sick days, exhibit 76% higher engagement, feel 29% higher job satisfaction and 40% less burnout.
You can read the full interview here.
Plus, seeing as though many workforces are now remote, private podcasting is a good way of keeping workers connected to your company and its values. You’ll find it easier and more convenient to make business announcements, deliver quarterly updates, propose company goals, lay out road maps or plans, and give inspirational talks.
If you need to give employees a quick update, your natural instinct might be to shoot them an email. But people are busy, and with the likelihood of various email chains pinging in and out of inboxes, there’s a strong chance of yours going unread. And even if it is opened, how many people do you think will realistically make it through the whole thing?
Enter private podcasting. Not only is it easier to inject some personality into an audio recording than it is a stiff bulletin, but the spoken word is actually proven to have certain advantages when it comes to internal communications. And that’s because audio has an added texture that you simply can’t convey in an email. You can express emotions more - making it more personal, more relatable, and a lot more engaging. All of this will help break down systematic, hierarchical barriers between management teams and employees.
Dr. Yoram Solomon touched on this point, too. He explained that:
When only email communication exists, the person on the receiving end has to make assumptions that will be either correct or incorrect. Allowing the other person to actually hear your tone of voice and emotional expression is more engaging. And when you understand that, it becomes easier to gain people’s trust.
Because you’ll have direct access to your private podcast analytics, it’ll be easy to see which topics listeners are interested in. What are they primarily engaging with? What’s resonating with them the most? What do they not seem interested in?
You’ll then be able to take this data and use it to define what type of content you create going forwards. And if that isn’t enough information, you can always ask listeners for honest feedback. Are they enjoying it? What do they want to hear more (or less) of? How could it be improved? What would encourage more people to tune in?
When it comes to actually planning, recording, and producing your private podcast, the process is no different to that of a standard one. Going into the specifics of these three stages is beyond the scope of this article, but to cover it, we’ve included a brief step-by-step breakdown below:
For more information or insight regarding the above 4 steps, check out our full, comprehensive guide on how to start a podcast here.
Once you’re happy with how your edited recordings sound, it’s time to upload and share them with your private audience. And this is where the process differs slightly from usual.
The process will vary slightly depending on who you’ve chosen as your podcast host. But for the sake of this article, let’s assume you pick our sister company, Podcast.co.
Launching a private podcast on Podcast.co is easy. The platform is specifically designed with ease-of-use in mind, so even if you haven’t got any podcasting experience, it’s still quick and simple to get started. Check out the video below where James Mulvany (founder of Cue Podcasts, MatchMaker.fm, and Podcast.co) talks you through the process:
If you’re a bigger brand with a production budget to work with, you might decide to partner up with a production agency to create your private podcast. An agency will handle everything from the initial concepting stage, right down to post-production and distribution.
That’s exactly what we offer here at Cue Podcasts.
We’re a full-service production agency that specialises in giving brands a voice - balancing creativity, collaboration, and technical excellence to reach desired target audiences.
The first thing we'll do is work with you to gain a solid understanding of your audience, your goals, and your brand to develop initial concepts and themes. We’ll also carry out audience research, format development, business goal alignment, content mapping, artwork creation, and host sourcing.
Once the concepting phase is complete, our team will assist and direct you while you record - whether on-location, in one of our studios, or remotely over video link. You’ll be assigned a dedicated producer who will take care of all the audio mixing and mastering, sound design, show notes, and recording equipment.
Once your episodes are edited, we'll distribute them privately via our super-fast hosting platform.
Lastly, we’ll keep you updated with how your private podcast is performing, with weekly analytic insight reports. This allows you to see which of your episodes are most popular with listeners so you can double down on the things that work.
You can check out some more of our recent production work below:
Want to learn more? Let us know your requirements by filling out this form to receive a production proposal and pricing quote.
Hopefully, you’ve got a much clearer idea of what private podcasting is, and how it can work for your brand or business.
If you’d like to actually try out listening to a private podcast before committing to creating your own, check out Podcast.co’s own private podcast, Private Podcasting 101. Just follow the link, scroll down to the registration form, and enter your details. You’ll then be emailed a private link to the available episodes.
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